Travelnola.com2008 Mirliton
Festival in New Orleans - BywaterThe annual Bywater celebration of the enigmatic, pear-shaped vegetable that has been a staple of New Orleans menus for many years. Bywater's signature event began in
1989, organized by neighborhood boosters who thought their
section of town needed its own event. Longtime Bywater
resident Mary Cooper was among the founders and recalled
that the first fest began "as kind of a joke."
According to Mary, the thinking was, "They have festivals
in Louisiana for everything else, why not mirlitons?"
For several years the fest was produced in tandem with
the Bywater Home Tour. In 1991 the festival even held
a parade from Press Street down Rampart Street to the
Stallings Center with the F.T. Nicholls High School (now
Fredrick Douglas) marching band. Over the fest's 18 year
history, one thing has remained the same: the Mirliton
Festival has great food and superlative music.
excerpt for Mirliton Festival Program